Few guest speakers have more experience aiming for the stars -- quite literally - than the Olympic Peninsula's Boy Scouts' next visitor.

Lt. Col. E. John "Dragon" Teichert, a Port Angeles native and top pilot in the U.S. Air Force, visits the peninsula July 22 (see box) for a fundraising breakfast that is open to the public.

Teichert is visiting Port Townsend that evening. He's the guest speaker at a dinner at the Northwest Maritime Center at 6:30 p.m., with registration at 6 p.m. RSVPs are encouraged.

Teichert graduated in 1990 from Port Angeles High School, attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and astronautics, and he spent a year at Stanford University where he earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 1995.

Teichert flew combat

missions in Operation Northern Watch and Operation Allied Force, earning the squadron top gun over the skies of the former Yugoslavia. He also flew Operation Noble Eagle missions, protecting the nation's capitol shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was selected for the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

In 2006, Major Teichert transferred to Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, graduating from Air Command and Staff College as a distinguished graduate. He was promoted to 411th Flight Test Squadron commander and the director of the F-22 Combined Test Force.

The senior pilot has more than 2,000 hours in 31 different aircraft.



Meet the pilot

Boy Scouts and others meet Lt. Col. E. John "Dragon" Teichert, a Port Angeles native, for a breakfast fundraiser at 7 a.m. Thursday, July 22, at the Red Lion Inn in Port Angeles. The event is free but donations are encouraged. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. Call 460-7030 for more information or to RSVP.